Mark R. Warner

Energy

Senator Warner firmly believes that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil while investing in new technologies that reduce harmful emissions that contribute to climate change.  He favors an "all of the above," portfolio approach that employs solar, wind, bio-fuels, nuclear energy and next generation battery technologies. Senator Warner supports investment in research that focuses on using carbon capture technology so we can continue to use our domestic resources, such as coal, more responsibly.  The science surrounding climate change supports the need for dramatic changes in policy, and Senator Warner believes any comprehensive legislation to address this issue must be balanced with the need to keep our economy viable during this challenging time.

Senator Warner's Progress:

• Senator Warner released a statement celebrating a Department of Energy’s an award of up to $4 million to Dominion Virginia Power to further develop offshore wind technology. 

• Senator Warner joined a bipartisan letter to the Environmental Protection Agency in support of a temporary waiver of the federal ethanol mandate to help Virginia’s agricultural community and consumers who have been hit hard by a dramatic rise in feed costs as a result of increased usage of corn-based ethanol.

• Senator Warner cosponsored the Offshore Petroleum Expansion Now Act of 2012, which would expand American offshore energy production with a revised five-year leasing plan and provide revenue sharing to all participating coastal states. The bill provides an alternative to the Obama Administration’s proposed 2012-2017 offshore oil and gas leasing plan, which currently excludes Virginia.

• Senator Warner, former Senator John Warner and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus testified at a Senate Energy Committee hearing on military investments in alternative energy. The hearing was convened aboard the USS Kearsarge at Norfolk Naval Station and was the first Senate hearing aboard a Navy ship in more than 50 years.

•  Senator Warner traveled to Waynesboro to view the largest thermal solar panel installation project in Virginia at the local YMCA.

• Senator Warner released a statement strongly urging the Obama Administration to take another look at including Virginia in its five-year oil and gas leasing plan announced by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

• Senator Warner joined a bipartisan group of senators to introduce the HOMESTAR Energy Retrofit Act of 2010, legislation that will provide targeted incentives for homeowners who make energy efficiency investments in their homes.

• Senator Warner praised the Obama Administration's plan to allow oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia.  He continues to work with his Senate colleagues to find appropriate revenue-sharing formulas between the federal and state governments.